Thursday, May 3, 2012

The Leftovers: Milan Fashion Week FW12

On the Milan runways, everything felt disjointed. The sense that a strong story ran throughout the collections faded away here. Of course, the lack of a dominant theme doesn't have to be a problem. In fact, it is often something to be applauded. Original thought can sometimes be hard to come by in this industry, and its appearance is always appreciated. But in Milan, it didn’t feel as if the disconnection from the direction of the season was deliberate. Instead it felt as if many of the collections were grasping. For purpose? For relevance? I’m not sure.

Still there were themes that could be seen and conclusions that could be drawn. The Lady was still present, though some of the dark sensuality had been sapped from her.

At Dsquared²


At Gabriele Colangelo


At Gianfranco Ferré


At No. 21


At Fendi


At Bottega Veneta


At Alberta Ferretti


At Marco de Vincenzo


A spate of menswear-inspired tailoring, not seen in the previous cities, stole a piece of The Lady's spotlight.

At Genny


At Emilio Pucci


At Etro


The peplums still lingered, occasionally in extreme forms that breathed new life into the trend.

At Bally


At Dsquared²


At Bottega Veneta


The furs, the leathers, and the velvets populated everything from collars to entire sweaters.

At Missoni


At Alberta Ferretti


At Dsquared²


At Fendi


At Iceberg


At Sportmax


At Salvatore Ferragamo


At Luisa Beccaria


And the brocades, which had played in the backgrounds of New York and London, came to the fore in Milan.

At Roberto Cavalli


At Ter et Bantine


At Aquilano.Rimondi


At Gucci


Blanket-like coats meant to shelter you from any and every chill continued to be displayed alongside more classic choices.

At Jil Sander


At Gianfranco Ferré


At Piazza Sempione


At Albino


And like London, Milan’s signature cropped up like it does almost every season. Sexy. Tight. Revealing.

At Dolce & Gabbana


At Emilio Pucci


At Versace


At Francesco Scognamiglio


Months later, I’m still unsure what it is that Milan caused me to think and feel. I doubt that uncertainty will fade before the next season begins.


Photos via

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